On Thursday, day four of COP27, the 2022 “10 Insights in Climate Science Report" was released, and the leading scientists involved declared that the world cannot adapt its way out of the climate crisis: emissions must be cut as a matter of urgency.

Conor and Laura discuss the report, and speak to climate activists and leading scientists on today’s show: one thing the two groups have in common is a focus on greenwashing, and compensating developing countries for the damage the crisis is inflicting on their economies and peoples.

Within the Earth, Ketsa

The world leaders who congregated in Sharm El Sheik for the first two days of COP27 have left and, whilst the climate negotiators get to work, the thematic days of the conference have begun.

Wednesday was finance day, with a host of side events around the pavilions discussing the often thorny issues surrounding climate finance. It was also the day that former US Vice-President Al Gore launched a project to provide accurate, granular emissions date, and revealed that, in many cases, emissions are much higher than previously reported.

Conor Lennon and Laura cover all this and more, on today’s COP27 podcast.

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It’s day two of COP27, and Laura and Conor are deciding on a good name for the podcast, and hunting for a good place to record the podcast! In the meantime, Laura followed the launch of the Net-Zero expert group’s report, which called out greenwashing, as well the other main events of the day.

Conor spoke to the UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, and Brad Smith – President of Microsoft and an SDG Advocate – about the UN plan to ensure that everyone has access to reliable early warning of extreme weather events and climate shocks, which could save millions of lives.

COP27, the UN climate conference, has begun in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Conor Lennon and Laura Quinoňes are at the high stakes event, for daily episodes of The Lid Is On, explaining the main issues of the day, and talking to some of the experts, activists and leaders.

Monday saw the Secretary-General give a forthright speech at the opening session, and it became clear that the vexed issue of “loss and damage” – how to compensate developing countries for the damage caused by the climate crisis – is likely to dominate discussion over the next two weeks.

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We’re just a few days away from COP27, the UN Climate Conference, which is taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 07 November.

For this episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon and Laura Quiñones invited Selwin Hart – the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Climate Action – into the studio to gauge the atmosphere before this high-stakes event.

You will also hear from Ilana Seid, Palau’s Ambassador to the UN, on the tense atmosphere during negotiations during last year’s climate COP in Glasgow, and Ian Fry, the first ever Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the context of climate change.

From Monday, Laura and Conor will present daily episodes of The Lid Is On from Sharm El-Sheikh, where they’ll bring you all the highlights from an event that aims to refocus leaders’ minds on the most pressing existential threat to mankind: the climate crisis. You can subscribe to the show on all major podcast platforms.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Nearly four decades on from the adoption of the UN Convention against Torture, there is evidence that it is still taking place in all regions of the world, even though it’s a recognized international crime.

On this week’s episode of The lid Is On, Conor Lennon met Claude Heller and Suzanne Jabour – the chairpersons of the UN Committee against Torture, and the Sub-committee on the Prevention of Torture – two independent human rights experts who attempt to convince countries to end the practice.

They explain that, in some countries and regions, torture is still seen thought to be a useful or acceptable part of interrogations, even though it has been shown to be ineffective.

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Most people are familiar with the phenomenon of refugees, those forced to flee their country of origin, because of a well-founded fear of persecution or, in some places, because of armed conflict or natural disaster.

But there is another, equally vulnerable category of people, who don’t cross international boundaries, but find it necessary to relocate to a different region of their country.

On today’s episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon met with Cecilia Jimenez-Damary – the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons – on the link between conflict and the climate crisis, which is increasingly causing people to leave their homes in search of safety.

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It’s been thirty years since the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to create the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, on 17 October 1992.

Great advances have been made in reducing global poverty since then, particularly in China and India, but the period has also seen significant increases in inequality, between and within countries.

To get a better idea of what progress has been made in dealing with poverty worldwide, Conor Lennon met Aye Aye Win, the President of the International Committee for October 17, which promotes the spirit and aims of the International Day, and Stacy White, an activist who advocates for some of the poorest people in New York.

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It’s World Space Week, a UN event celebrating the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.

This year’s theme is space and sustainability, with a focus on how the technology can help us to better understand climate change.

On this week’s episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon from UN News is joined by Niklas Hedman, the head of the UN Office on Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and Maruška Strah, the head of World Space Week, to find out about the growing danger of space debris, and why artists need to join scientists on the moon, mars, and beyond.

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Counter-terrorism is one of the lesser-known subjects covered by the UN, but attempts to improve international cooperation to combat terrorism have grown in recent years, particularly since the 2001 plane attacks against the US.

On today’s episode of The Lid Is On, Jennifer Bramlette from the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), and Adam Hadley from Tech Against Terrorism, a public-private partnership, join Conor Lennon to talk about the pervasive threat posed by the use of online technology by terror groups, and how Governments can fight back.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa